Weft needle mechanism for axminster looms



April 1951 N. FLETCII-IER ET AL 62 WEFT NEEDLE MECHANISM FOR- AXMINSTERLOOMS Filed March 1, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR S NORMA/V FLETCHERWALTER )5 R058 ATTORNEY April 10, 1951 v N. FLETCHER ET AL 2,548,652

WEFT NEEDLE MECHANISM FOR AXMINSTER LOOMS Filed March 1, 1946 3Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS NORMAN FLETCHER WALTER Y. R058 6%,? M rg IATTORN EY April 1951 N. FLETCHER EI'AL 2,548,662

WEFT NEEDLE MECHANISM FOR AXMINSTER LOOMS Filed March 1, 1946 3Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. I?

5 lill va7 38 N L -s3 2 r r V FI -11 36 l v t ed 65 u 4 55 INVENTORS ATORNEY Patented Apr. 10, 1951 WEFT NEEDLE-MECHANISM FOR AXMINSTER LooMsNorman Fletcher, Worcester, and Walter Y. Robb, Whitinsville; Mass,assignors to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester, Mass., acorporation of Massachusetts Application March 1, 1946, Serial No.651,178 I This invention relates to improvements in Weft needles forlooms. more particularly of the Axminster type and it isthe generalobject of our invention to provide a flexible needle formed of sheetmetal curved transversely to provide rigidity,

In Axminster looms the weft is drawn from a stationary package and isintroduced into the warp shed by an elongated needle. In the past thisneedle has been rigid and has required a long needle rail extending toone side of the loom. The needle railadds considerably to the floorspace occupied by the loom and in wide looms 4 Claims. (o1.1s9 123) thisadditional space required for the rail is ob-,

jectionab1y large. Itis an important object of our present invention toprovide a flexible needle which can be bent or curved on itself so thatthe part thereof out of the shed can move along a,

path transverse of that part of the needle which is in the shed, whichusually extends to one side of the loom.

It is another object of our invention to make the needle of concavesheet metal provided with spaced slots or openings to receive the teethof a driving sprocket wheel by which the needle is moved into and out ofthe shed.

With' these and other objects in'view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, our invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts hereinafter described and set-forth.

In the accompanying drawings, wherein a con- Venient embodiment of ourinvention is set forth,

Fig. l is a. side elevation of a portion of an Axminster loom having ourinvention applied thereto,

Fig. 2is a front elevation looking in the direction of arrow 2, Fig. 1,I

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section on line 33 of Fig. 2 showing theneedle driving mechanism,

Figs. 4, and 6 are enlarged vertical sections on lines 4-4, 55 and 6-45,respectively, of Fig. 2',

Fig. 7 is anenlarged plan view of the eye end of the needle looking inthe direction of arrow 1, .2,

Fig. 8 is an enlarged plan looking in the direction of arrow 8,'Fig. 2,showing the selvage shuttle, the needle and the thread guide at theright side of the loom,

Fig. 9 is a vertical section on line 9-9, Fig. 3,

Fig. 10 is a vertical section through the warp shed showing the needlebetween the top andbot-- tom sheds, and

Fig. 11 is a horizontal section on line il --l I, Fig. 3.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the loom frame 10 supports a pullover shaftH around which extends a tube frame transporting chain I2. The

tube frame transfer arms, one of which is shown at l3 in Fig.2,disconnect the tube frames one at a time from the chains i2 and movethem down in the usual manner to tuft forming position after which thetube frame is returned to the chain. In Fig. 1 one of these tube framesis indicated at M in the position which it occupies just'prior tomovement downwardly to tuft forming position. I V e The loom is providedwith frontand back tuft cutting knives i5 and [6, respectively, whichoperate at the proper time inthe loom cycle to cut the row of tuftsfrom'the tube frame which has been moved to tuft forming position;

frames ll manipulate the warp threads in such manner as to form top andbottom sheds W and The loom is provided with a shaft which rotates oncefor each three picks of the 100111.,

This shaft actuates'the usual: means for operating the tube frametransferrer arms 13, the

knives I5 and 16, the harness frames I1, and the lay 21 which movesbackwardly and forwardly once for .each pick of the loom. The reed 22 ofthe lay extends through the warp shed and is the means by which theweft-thread F is beaten forwardly into the fabric.

. As shown in Figs. 2 and 8 the left side of the loom is provided with aselvage shuttle 25 which through a loop, in the filling thread Fafterthe latter has been moved into the shed by the improved needle formingpart of our invention and set forth more particularly hereinafter;

The matter thus far described operates in the usual manner, the laybeating forwardly three times for each complete tuft forming cycle ofthe loom. e v

In carrying our invention into effect we provide a flexible needle Nwhich is made of sheet metal and is permanently curved throughout its 7length so that it' is of arcuate transverse cross section and concaverelatively to an axis longitudinal of the needle, as set forthparticularly in-Figs. 4 and 5. In Fig. 4 the needle 'is seen to beconcave upwardly and engages a guide roll 30 formed with a convexperiphery 30' to fit the upper concave surface of the needle androtatable Harness in a stand 3| fixed to the support 48. A second roll32 under the needle is also rotatable on the stand 3! and together withthe upper roll 3!! limits vertical motion of that part of the needlenear the loom frame and shown at the right of Fig. 8. The stand 3% hasvertical guide walls 33 between which the needle N moves. The flexibleneedle is therefore guided by the rolls 30 and 32 and also by the walls33.

The needle is formed with a series of slots, apertures, or openings 35which are aligned longitudinally and centrally of the needle and areequally spaced along the length of the needle to receive the sprocketteeth 33 of a sprocket wheel 3's mounted in a housing designatedgenerally at H. The sprocket wheel has a wide web 38 having cylindricalperipheral surfaces 39 located on op posite sides of the teeth 35. Thewheel 37 also has hubs 40 which are pinned or otherwise secured to ashaft di which rotate in bearing hubs d2 of right and left side plates43 and, respectively,

1 asviewed in Fig. 3.

The side plates are secured to a guide block 65 as at it and the blockis secured as at 4"? to a support it fixed with respect to the loomframe. The block has provision for guiding the needle N including a slotdesignated generally at 53 and having a horizontal part an arcuate part52 concentric with shaft ll, and a vertical part 53. These three partsof the slot are continuous and form a guide for theneedle as the lattermoves along the guide block 45.

The bottom of the slot has a surface 55 which is engaged by theunderside of the needle and the arcuate part 58 of surface 55 is spacedfromthe surfaces 39 of the sprocket by a distance slightly greater thanthe thickness of the nee-,

A narrower slot 57 is cut in'bloc'k 55 below the level of surface 55 toprovide clearance for the teeth 36 of the sprocket wheel, and the sidewalls defer the slot 521 serve as guides f or'the needle to preventsubstantial lateral movement thereof with respect to the block. Theslots or apertures 35 in the needle may be slightly wider than thesprocket teeth 36 and the latter serve merely to move the needle alongthe block without necessarily performing a guiding relationd sprocketwheel to hold the latter in correct position for registry with theneedle N.

During loom operation a rotation of the shaft 2!} will cause threerotations of the crank arm 3% and therefore three complete oscillationsof the. sprocket wheel 31. The needle will be inserted and removed fromthe shed for each oscillation of the sprocket and a complete rotation ofshaft 20 will result in laying three shots of for an Axminster loomconstructed of flat resilient sheet metal dished or curved so as to beconcave with respect to an axis extending along the length of theneedle. The housing H is constructed with guide walls for the needlewhich require the latter to bend uniformly along that part thereof indriving relation with respect to the sprocket. These guides preventbuckling of the needle and prevent a greater amount of bending at theslots than between the latter. It will also be seen that we haveprovided a guide for the upper part of the needle which directs thelatter inwardly toward the center of the loom. By this construction weare able to avoid the long needle 7 railsh'eretofore used in'wideAxminster looms.

Furthermore, the guide walls 58 and 33 serve to direct the needle eyetoward the selvage shuttle. The needle N is flexible longitudinally sothat it can bend around the sprocket wheel, and is also flexibletransversely so that it can be flattened as it were when passing betweenthe sprocket to the left as at H, Fig. 2, and then horizontally as atE2. Clips 73 hold the horizontal part 12 of the guide to a supportingframe it fixed with respect to the loom.

The mechanism for oscillating the sprocket 3'! is shown moreparticularly in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. Secured to the shaft 2c is a largebevel gear 86 meshing with a pinion 8! of one-third the size secured toa shaft 32 rotatable in a stationary bearing 83. v The forward end ofshaft 82 carries a crank arm 8d the pin $5 of which is pivoted to thelower end of a connector 85. The latter extends upwardly and ispivotally connected as at ell to the bottom end of a rack member 88slidable in top and bottom bearings 39 and t supported by the housing H.The rack meshes with a gear at secured to the shaft ll. The side "plates33 and id cooperate with hubs d0 of the and. guide block. Normally,however, the'needle is curved in tranverse cross section and tends tolie straight.

The present application relates more particularly to the needle drivingmechanism, the needle itself being the subject of a divisionalapplication Serial No. 758,642, filed July 2, 1947.

Having thus described our invention, it will be seen that changes andmodifications may be made therein by those skilled in the artwithoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention and we donot wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, but What weclaim is:

1. In weft laying mechanism for a loom having a selvage shuttle at oneside thereof, a flexible sheet metal weft needle, said 'needle'having aconcave surface extending lengthwise thereof, actuating mechanism forsaid needle at the other side of the loom including a toothed rotarymember, said needle having longitudinally spaced apertures cooperatingwith said member to cause movement of the needle toward said selvageshuttie when said member is rotated in a given direction, and guidemeans between said member and the. selvage shuttle having a convexperiphery engaging said concave surface of said needle andcooperatingwith the member to direct "the needle along apath toward saidselvage shuttle.

2. In'weft needle mechanism for a loom having a selvage shuttle at oneside thereof, a flexible weft laying needle having spaced aperturesextending longitudinally therealong, said needle having a concavesurface extending lengthwise thereof, a rotary actuator for the needleon the other side of the loom having teeth to enter said apertures, afirst guide for the needle adjacent to said actuator, and a second guidebetween the selvage shuttle and the first guide having a convexperiphery engaging said concave surface and cooperating with the firstguide to direct the needle toward said selvage shuttle when the actuatorturns in such a direction as to move the needle from said other side ofthe loom toward said one side of the loom.

3. In weft needle mechanism for a loom having a selvage shuttle at oneside thereof, an elongated flexible sheet metal weft needle havingsubstantially parallel sides between which are located a series ofapertures, said needle having a concave surface extending lengthwisethereof, a rotary actuator on the other side of the loom cooperatingwith said apertures to effect movement of the needle when the actuatorturns, a guide holding the needle in cooperative relation with saidactuator and having a guide slot for the needle between the actuator andthe selvage shuttle, and guide means between said slot and the selvageshuttle having a convex periphery engaging said concave surfacecooperating with said slot to direct the weft needle toward said selvageshuttle when the rotary actuator turns in such a, direction as to causemovement of the needle from said other side of the loom toward said oneside of the loom.

4. In weft needle mechanism for a loom having a selvage shuttle at oneside thereof, an elongated fiexible sheet metal weft needle havingsubstantially parallel sides between which are located a series ofapertures, a rotary actuator on the other side of the loom cooperatingwith said apertures to effect movement of the needle when the actuatorturns, a guide holding the needle in cooperative relation with saidactuator and having a guide slot between the actuator and the selvageshuttle, and guide means between said slot and the selvage shuttlecooperating with said slot to direct the weft needle toward said selvageshuttle when the rotary actuator turns in such a direction as to causemovement of the needle from said other side of the loom toward said oneside of the loom, said needle being normally curved in transverse crosssection and said guide means including a roll shaped to conform to thecurved shape of the needle.

NORMAN FLETCHER. WALTER Y. ROBB.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

